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Tennessee PoliticsMon, 07 Apr 2014 14:51:50 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6Haslam plays it tight-lipped on Womick statementshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/haslam-plays-it-tight-lipped-on-womick-statements/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/haslam-plays-it-tight-lipped-on-womick-statements/#commentsMon, 14 Nov 2011 22:55:44 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=15313Gov. Bill Haslam spoke for the first time Monday about state Rep. Rick Womick’s contention that devout Muslims should be removed from the military on the ground that they constitute a threat, but he didn’t say much:

“I don’t think I would agree with Rick on that,” Haslam said. The governor then declined an alt-weekly reporter’s invitation to make a stronger statement. “I don’t think that’s my role, but I’ll just say on that issue, I don’t agree with Rick.”

Womick’s told the blog ThinkProgress Friday that he believes the Quran and other Islamic texts require all Muslims to kill all non-believers. He called for all devout Muslims to be kicked out of the military and questioned whether Muslims who consider themselves less-than-devout can really be trusted.

Womick’s comments circulated widely over the weekend. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the Tennessee General Assembly to formally rebuke Womick for calling for removal of all Muslims from the military. Womick said he did not care about CAIR’s statement, telling the Daily News Journal that the organization is a “radical Islamic group.”